Basenji's will make you laugh every day...

Jester waits by the bathtub for his reward...


Athena gets her turn after Jester is done.


Jester watching the computer....

Memphis Zoo

Sunday Bob and I went to the Memphis Zoo with Kelly and her daughter Shelby (and a few other family members).

Bob & Kelly at the entrance to the Zoo

A very small Brown Bear

Where is Jester?

I was looking all over the house for Jester. I thought maybe I left him in the backyard. Nope not there. What is this....

He gave me that look of sorry, I was sleeping and didn't feel like getting up....OK back to bed now go away.

Sardis Lake

We finally made it to the lake with the camera. Us Alaskan's have a different way of staying cool!

"Am I in Hell? This isn't working....."

"....Ah yes, Much better! Must go faster!"

"OMG! Is Bob driving my boat...."

"....That's it! I'm done!"

Play at your own risk, it's Keith! ~_^

(You may want to turn volume off, Bob drives fast and all you can hear is wind.)

One day I decided that since I like to write that I wanted to write in books with my own creativity. This is my very first book, made with my very own hands.

I decided I was going to make a journal that I could write my ideas, thoughts, goals or whatever came to mind. So, now it was time to go shop for this journal of mine.

I started buying the pages I would write on, so I picked up a bundle of neutral colored paper at Target. A week later after doing a little research on how to bind books, I decided it was time to take the plunge and go shopping again.

I found myself at Michaels and knew I wanted an Oriental theme. I really wanted something with bamboo on it. I started looking at cloth because I wanted to put cloth on the spine of the book. I could pick my cover paper after I found the cloth. There it was looking at me, red cloth with fortune cookies on it. Since, I couldn’t find the green bamboo cloth I decided the cover paper would be green. The hardest thing to find was the board to make the cover and spine. Now, I had all the materials to make my first journal.

The first step is putting the pages in the book and folding them to the shape and size of the book. I chose to make it small for ease. I also decided that since a journal is for thoughts that can come out all messy, it was only right to keep the pages rough by not trimming them.

Then I had to sew the pages together. Next I had to glue the spine of the pages to mesh (which you can see in the center of the pages). I didn’t sew tight enough so you can see into the heart of my book. I had to redo this whole part once since the gap was too big the first time.

Next was cutting the board for the covers and spine. I made a small math error here and forgot to add an extra ¼ inch to top and bottom. I forgot that I would need that extra space on the top and bottom of the cover. Then I had to sand the board to make the edges smooth.

Then it was time to glue the pages to the spine board. Next, I cut the green paper (which I loved because it has texture that makes it look alive and not perfect) to cover the whole outside of the board covers. I had to make room for the spine that I glued the pages to. Then I had to glue the green paper to the boards and spine. Next I had to make the hinge points between the cover boards and spine so the book would open.

It was starting to look like a real book. Now I got to do my favorite part which was to glue the cloth to the spine and covers to give it that special touch. Next, I had to put the paper on the inside of the covers. This was tricky because I had to make it the same height as the pages and put enough of a bend in it so it would not rip away when you opened the book.

My first book was done! But, as I sat there and looked at it the more I realized that this red and green book had to go to Tom.

Knowing that Tom is going through a life changing moment, I thought it would be great for him. Then I decided it must be filled with quotes that would make him think, yet could be inspiring at the same time.

Tom this book is for you! This book can be picked up and read at anytime knowing that I put my heart and soul into it.

We love and miss you! Happy 63rd Birthday!

Black Widow Spider!

Well, everyone knows how much I just love spiders! Yesterday, Jester got bit by this Black Widow Spider! I noticed his muzzle was swollen just under his eye. He had been outside for awhile since summer is starting to show and he loves the sun. I gave him a antihystamine and noticed after a few hours the swelling wasn't going down. I decided I would go out and clean up the backyard, only to find a Black Widow crawling on the grass near this hole in our wood fence.

I called the vet and they told me to bring him in right away. After a few shots and some pills to give him for the next 2wks he is doing ok.

I am not sure if he hit the web with his nose and the Black Widow shot out and bit him. In Alaska I would have him kill spiders. But, now I will have to figure out how to get him to come find me when he sees one and not to touch it.

Jester's Bite 2 Days after bitten! Look at those sad puppy dog eyes. I think if he asked for all the cheese in the house, I would give it to him.

Back To Alaska

We finally made it back to Alaska to visit with family. We had loads of fun! It was great to see everyone. We got to eat at some old favorite places.

We had a blast at the lake as always. Bob did lots of 4-wheeling. Here are some pictures.

The smallest Bear Poop I have ever seen!

Yep, this is a trail.

We got to go to the State Fair.

Tom & Tyler

Mike & Tyler

Erin & Tyler

Me and all the kids.

We brought some TN pork ribs for good eating. And, thanks to Mike we got to bring home some awesome smoked salmon that he did him self.
I also got to do my first quilt project with lots of Peggy's help.

What is this white stuff?

Our first day of snow which only stuck to the fence. But, Friday the 7th of march was a whole different story.

Friday March 7th! Woot 2-3 inches. I had to break out the shovels! With a high of 39 degrees. And, Sunday should be a high of 55 and the rest of the week 65. Did I mention the South is crazy!

Fall with color.

Fall is here. This might just be my favorite part of the house. As you can see there is still a little bit of green on it. The leaves are already starting to fall. The highest window behind the tree is our office. So, I get to enjoy looking at it everyday.

I am already a cold weather sissy. It was 30 degrees this morning with frost on the grass. Brrrrr! I guess when your average temp is around 85-90 it really seems cold. I know I will get no sympathy from those living in Alaska. ^_^

Well, December 1st will be my 1yr in TN and the 15th for Bob. Time goes by so fast. It really is hard to slow life down sometimes. So, take a moment to enjoy our tree.

The shrubs behind the maple tree are our holly bushes. I have seen no berries on them, but maybe I can cut some and send them to AK to make some wreaths. Guess we get to buy another power tool. Not quite big enough to shape into animals.

My goal is when Peggy makes it down here she can help me plant some flowers between the two shrubs on each end.

House Pictures

Sorry it took so long to get the house pictures on the website. The front door.

The front door and living room. Athena wanted to be in the picture.

The Kitchen and Dining room.

The backyard. Got this nice playhouse. Can Kailyn, Kate, and Tyler come out and play?

Bugs

Well, there are only 3 things I hate about living in TN!

1. Being away from family.
2. Mowing the grass in 90 plus degrees at 8am.
3. All the bugs that thrive in this heat and humidity.

Here are some of the creatures that I have taken pictures of:


I do love frogs! I find it to be a very lucky day when I find a frog.

Here is a picture of a Wolf Spider which carry their young on their back. They are big and ugly looking. About the size of a quarter with its legs extended. They are poisonous but I guess they can't bite you. I don't care what you say. They still give me the Heeber Jeeber's!





Then there is the Cellar Spider which looks a lot like a Daddy Long leg. They are found in our garage and they make nice big webs in the windows. I couldn't get a good picture of one so here is a nice one. I have seen these as big as baseballs. You can't miss seeing that.



And the last one has visited me 3 times while sleeping. The famous Earwig. I can't imagine why I have nightmares about bugs.



Did I mention the pest guy is coming tomorrow! 0_0

Happy Mothers Day

I just want to take a moment to wish all of you Moms a wonderful Mothers Day!

Peggy thanks for being my Mom! Although I can't bring you flowers today, I thought I would share my favorite picture of you with flowers. Thanks for showing me what "family" really means.

Soon to be our new home!

We should be closing June 5th and starting to move in June 8th.

I am so excited to get out of the apartment and into a home. The dogs and I will love the "fenced" backyard!

I must say that I am not looking forward to moving in this heat. Might just have to strap on a camelbak (a backpack that holds water)! Thank goodness that we still have a two car garage still all packed and ready to move.

We hope to make this our home for the next 3-5yrs. If less great!

Chicago

(The Sears tower is the tallest building in my picture)

A beautiful place to visit, but not some place we would want to live. It was like being in a thick forest with only the sky to see. But, if you ask me I rather be in a forest of trees vs buildings. We decided that we would walk to Lake Michigan. Looking out over Lake Michigan reminded me of an ocean.

Everyone was very friendly on the street. Only 3 people knew that Jester and Athena were Basenji's. They were looked at with great interest. The dogs did great in the hotel. We were only on the 5th floor thank goodness. Athena hated the elevator. It was a challenge the first day to find a place for the dogs to go to the bathroom. We just followed the crowd of people walking their dogs and found a great dog park.